Everywhere you look right now, there’s a gaggle of nerds foaming at the mouth to share their list of the very best video games of 2025. (And we’re no exception!) But what about the stinkers, the flops, the dead-on-arrival turds? We want to take a few moments to honor the low achievers of 2025, the absolute worst games of the year according to review aggregator Metacritic. Are all of these games truly as terrible as the reviews say? Is there a hidden gem or two hidden among the bunch? Let’s find out.
- MindsEye
- Tamagotchi Plaza
- Ambulance Life: A Paramedic Simulator
- Scar-Lead Salvation
- Captain Blood
- Neptunia Riders Vs Dogoos
- Hunter x Hunter: Nen x Impact
- Bubsy in: The Purrfect Collection
- Rennsport
- Switch 2 Welcome Tour
The issue with a “The worst of …” list is that you need to find examples that are both really bad and also notorious/high-profile enough to be interesting. “random game I’ve never heard about is really bad” has very little value as a news/“news” item. It’s like buying a bottom-shelf liquor and complaining that it sucks ass.
It’s a quandary that blasts the very question.
There is no good reason for us to define, or seek out, the “worst games of the year”. Only outrage culture wants us to direct hate towards known bad games like Black Ops 7, even though by any practical analysis it’s a better game than hundreds of ignored, pretty bad asset flips, and even some high-effort low-thought indie games that have come out.
It’s just a fun article to break up the usual doom and gloom.